Ectasian facts for kids
The Ectasian Period was a long stretch of time in Earth's history. It is the second period in the Mesoproterozoic Era. This period started about 1.4 billion years ago and finished 1.2 billion years ago. The Ectasian Period happened after the Calymmian Period and before the Stenian Period.
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The Ectasian Period: A Time of New Life
The Ectasian Period was a very important time for life on Earth. During this period, we see the first clear evidence of something amazing: sexual reproduction. Before this, most life forms likely reproduced by simply splitting in two, like many bacteria do today.
How Life Changed: Sexual Reproduction
Sexual reproduction is a way for living things to create new life by combining material from two parents. This is different from asexual reproduction, where only one parent is needed. Sexual reproduction helps create more variety in living things. This variety is super important because it helps life adapt and change over time, making it stronger and more able to survive new challenges.
Scientists found proof of this big change in a place called the Hunting Formation. This rock formation is on Somerset Island in Canada. The rocks there are about 1.2 billion years old, which means they formed right at the end of the Ectasian Period.
The First Known Sexual Reproducer: Bangiomorpha pubescens
Inside these ancient rocks, scientists discovered tiny microfossils. These fossils are from a multicellular filament (a long, thin chain of cells) called Bangiomorpha pubescens. This was a type of red algae, similar to some seaweeds we see today.
Bangiomorpha pubescens is special because it is the oldest known organism that clearly showed signs of sexual reproduction. Finding this fossil tells us that this important way of making new life began during the Ectasian Period. This was a huge step in the evolution of complex life on our planet!
| Precambrian (4.567 gya – 541 mya) | |
|---|---|
| In the left column are Eons, bold are Eras, not bold are Periods. gya = billion years ago, mya = million years ago | |
| Hadean (4.567 gya – 4 gya) | Chaotian Zirconian |
| Archaean (4 gya – 2.5 gya) | Eoarchaean (4 gya – 3.6 gya)
Palaeoarchaean (3.6 gya – 3.2 gya) |
| Proterozoic (2.5 gya – 541 mya) | Palaeoproterozoic (2.5 gya – 1.6 gya) Siderian (2.5 gya – 2.3 gya) Rhyacian (2.3 gya – 2.05 gya) Orosirian (2.05 gya – 1.8 gya) Statherian (1.8 gya – 1.6 gya)
Mesoproterozoic (1.6 gya – 1 gya) Calymmian (1.6 gya – 1.4 gya) Ectasian (1.4 gya – 1.2 gya) Stenian (1.2 gya – 1 gya) Neoproterozoic (1 gya - 541 mya) Tonian (1 gya – 720 mya) Cryogenian (720 mya – 635 mya) Ediacaran (635 mya – 541 mya) |
See also
In Spanish: Período Ectásico para niños
